Since I was 19 on an anthropology study abroad trip to Ecuador, I have searched for authentic intercultural experiences. It’s difficult, to be sure, and not everyone wants their travels to be difficult. My vacation in Fiji after the Climate Lab week came to an end raised some important questions: what is the value in striving for authenticity and is it even achievable?
I try to avoid touristy places when I travel, conveniently ignoring the fact that I am a tourist myself. In this post I wrestle with some external judgment related to how people “should” travel, including whether they should even travel in the first place. Seeking comfort (in addition to challenge) when I was in Fiji helped me realize there’s no clear black-and-white answer here.
For some of us, science is like a religion, but the battle between science and religion has been raging for centuries. Hawai’i’s Mauna Kea is sacred ground, but it is also the site of several research telescopes. This situation reveals many difficult questions to ponder, including justifying the cost of scientific progress and determining who gets to make those decisions.
Tourism is difficult when you love to experience the world but also recognize how damaging travel can be. Maui represents a particularly stressed part of the world from a climate standpoint, and the deadly wildfires there in the summer of 2023 impacted local communities but also the island’s biggest revenue driver: tourism. We did our best to visit responsibly, whatever that means to Maui.
I only had one day to explore Oahu after my climate lab session, meaning I needed to make it count, but since one of my favorite TV shows, “Lost,” was filmed almost entirely on that island, the choice was pretty easy. I was thrilled to see familiar scenes at Kualoa Ranch, but I was surprised to learn more about what else goes on there: sustainable agriculture.
With one third of my year-long program completed, our cohort has been doing a lot of reflecting on what we’ve seen, learned, and applied. At the end of a week together in Hawai’i, we focused on some very real leadership challenges we’ve faced in a fragmented, polarized world, as well as how to encourage and empower others to keep moving forward toward a common goal.
“Nothing ventured, nothing gained,” as they say, but venturing into the unknown is a daunting experience for anyone. The theme of exploration was strong during our Climate Lab week in Hawai’i, especially given Polynesian cultural ties to long sea voyages. Although solving the climate crisis can feel like sailing into the unknown without a map, we’re building navigational tools that will help us find a destination.
Any good management class will tell you that stakeholder engagement is necessary for project success, but it can be easy to forget that guidance once you’re in project implementation mode. Seeing examples of good stakeholder engagement in person during my Climate Lab week on Oahu helped illustrate just how effective an inclusive process can be, or – even better – how community-led efforts can truly shine.
I was impressed when I learned about Hawaii’s goal of 100% renewable energy by 2045, but I was shocked to learn about some unintended impacts of wind energy development on Oahu’s north shore. Hearing from impacted residents was a great reminder that wind energy, like any tool, is not inherently good or bad – it comes down to how it is developed and used.
As part of my year-long climate adaptation leadership program, our cohort is participating in three intensive, in-person sessions at different locations throughout the Pacific. The first week was in Hawai’i, exploring impacts from climate change and adaptation strategies in place across the state. Before we did anything else, we spent some time in the classroom examining priority issues and best practices for engaging local communities.